The new San Francisco mystery novel by Paul McHugh.

Elderly land-use activist Beverly Bancroft is found dead on a beautiful stretch of California shoreline. Her murder, disguised as a tragic accident, plunges Sebastian Palmer into his first newspaper investigation. Veteran columnist Colm MacCay is assigned as his mentor. Palmer and a new friend, Elle Jatobá, who yearns to be a cop, begin to unravel the mystery behind the death. Then the conspirators come after Palmer.

It falls to MacCay to revive his dormant investigative skills, and persuade Elle to join him in uncovering the land-grab scheme behind the assaults. MacCay and Jatobá face a determined killer. At stake are their lives and the fate of the California coast. Their search for clues takes them from waterfront bars to a smugglers’ den, from downtown San Francisco to corridors of power in Sacramento, from the glitter of Las Vegas to an isolated monastery on the Big Sur coast. En route, MacCay must battle his dubious new bosses at the Post-Dispatch, as well as his own inner demons.